The goal of our proposed IMSD Program is to increase the number of minority students who enter careers in biomedical and behavioral research in which they are under-represented. Our proposed comprehensive program will play a significant role in overcoming the still-existing disparities, between minority and non-minority undergraduate and doctoral students at Rutgers, in their progressing into careers in biomedical/behavioral research. Through accomplishing this goal, our proposed IMSD Program will improve our overall Institutional outcomes. To accomplish this goal, our objectives are to provide the undergraduate and doctoral students in our Program with the academic and research skills, self-efficacy, motivation, and credentials that are essential to developing their competitiveness toward entering the next phases of their career - i.e., doctoral programs or post doctorates, respectively. In order to accomplish these objectives and attain our goal, our proposed IMSD Program will: Provide the undergraduate and doctoral students with a carefully-mentored, rigorous research experience that includes supervised conceptualization, formulation, performance, analysis, presentation at professional scientific conferences, and publication of their own research or doctoral dissertation project; *Provide a sequentially-coordinated, closely and continuously monitored spectrum of academic and personal support components to promote the students' highest academic performance levels, including, e.g., our Research Career/Fellowship Writing Workshop, mentored graduate school and postdoctoral application processes, an academic skills workshop, psychological counseling services, academic enrichment classes in gate-keeper courses, etc., all designed to develop the students' professional self- efficacy, ensure their personal wellbeing and retention through to completion of their undergraduate or doctoral training on campus, and facilitate their entry into doctoral or postdoctoral programs; Mainstream the students into the academic campus community by articulating our IMSD Program with other relevant University programs, prominent among which are the Garden State LS-AMP Program and the Honors College. The lead institution for this major new Program is Rutgers-Newark, so our campus plays a major role in its functioning, and it will continue to be a major interaction opportunity for our IMSD Program. *Cast a wide net to recruit potential IMSD students -- especially doctoral students, who are particularly underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral-related departments on our campus -- from multiple venues both on and off-campus, including the Garden State LS-AMP Program and its participating New Jersey institutions, and the greater metropolitan New York City institutions (e.g., Hunter College, LIU, Medgar Evers) with significant underrepresented minority student populations totaling several hundred IMSD-eligible students in relevant major fields. *Monitor continuously the performance of our IMSD Program via data gathering, analysis, and review of our quantitative goals by the IMSD PD and Program Coordinator, and regular meetings with our IMSD participants, toward eliminating any gaps in performance between our IMSD students and the students in the university community at large. We will perform annual internal evaluations by a clinical psychologist, primarily via student and faculty focus group discussions, as this has proven to be the most informative venue for obtaining valuable feedback and recommendations from the students, mentors, and advisory board for recommending improvements to our Program (e.g., leading to requested increased career guidance activities). *Among the quantitative expected outcomes for our IMSD undergraduate students: at least 90% of the undergraduates accepted into our IMSD Program will earn the baccalaureate, of whom at least 70% will proceed to enter a Ph.D. or Ph.D./M.D. program. And at least 90% of the doctoral students accepted into our IMSD Program will earn the Ph.D., of whom at least 80% will proceed to a postdoctoral position. We believe that these proposed Program components will continue to play a significant role in overcoming the still-existing disparities, between Minority and non-Minority undergraduate and doctoral students in our Institution, in their progressing into careers in biomedical/behavioral research. Through accomplishing this goal, our proposed IMSD Program will improve our overall Institutional outcomes. To accomplish this goal, our objectives are to provide the undergraduate and doctoral students in our Program with the academic and research skills, self-efficacy, motivation, and credentials that are essential to developing their competitiveness toward entering the next phases of their career - i.e., doctoral programs or post doctorates, respectively.